The Lead

The bionic age is no longer the workings of a far-fetched sci-fi movie; it’s here, now. We have experienced the first bionic eye and limbs. These technologies merge human capabilities with machines. They transform how we live, and who we are. They are improving quality of life. And there’s perhaps no greater example than R&D Magazine’s Innovator of the Year Prof. Hugh Herr.

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The Innovator of the Year Award, one of R&D Magazine’s top individual awards, is presented each year to an individual or team in the area of research and development who has demonstrated leadership, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. This year, the editors are pleased to announce the selection of Andrew J. Ouderkirk of 3M Company as the 2013 R&D Magazine Innovator of the Year.

In building and programming the world's most capable natural language processing computer, David Ferrucci, and IBM Research's DeepQA Team are shooting far higher than a million-dollar payday on "Jeopardy!".

Since 2000, R&D Magazine has annually honored an individual whose research has greatly contributed to the advance of high technology, and whose achievements have helped change society. In 2011, for the first time, the editors recognize the teamwork involved in making possible the most advanced computer-supported intelligence system yet: Watson.

Amit Goyal, R&D Magazine’s 11th Innovator of the Year, is
best known for his contributions to the practical use of
high-temperature superconductors and his successful efforts in the
development and fabrication of wires that allow HTS to be adopted in the
commercial marketplace.

For years, R&D
Magazine has been honoring the scientists and researchers behind
some of
the greatest innovations and discoveries in science with the Innovator
of the
Year and Scientist of the Year Awards. This year is no exception; R&D
Magazine is again turning to the
R&D community to help us identify the best minds in research and
development by nominating candidates for our Scientist of the Year,
Innovator
of the Year, and Young Innovator of Year awards.

The best way to find out what someone wants is to ask. In surveys, we
asked readers about the tools they use in their research, what they
like, what they don’t like, and improvements they would like to see.
Then, we asked the companies that develop these tools to describe what
they offer, and what they are doing to meet market demands.

For people living with cancer, treating their disease successfully is often marred by the many side effects associated with intravenous chemotherapy. Emerging drug delivery technologies focus on limiting the exposure of healthy cells to these toxic agents, but few have the potential to improve patient care in a significant way. Kevin N. Sill, PhD, has designed an advanced method for encapsulating a wide variety of therapeutic agents into a polymer-based drug delivery system, called the IVECT Method.

As a girl, growing up, I developed a weird infatuation with beauty pageants. Although more of a tomboy in my younger years, most of my friends were what I would call “girly-girls,” some were even heavy into the pageant scene. I remember always going over to their houses and playing Miss America. Yes, I have to admit that is quite an embarrassing confession for me.

Cancer is a deadly disease that effects millions of people around the world annually. For some patients if the disease doesn’t kill them, the constant injections of toxic chemotherapy drugs could cause severe side effects. However, this era of toxic chemo drugs running throughout cancer victim’s bodies can come to a halt thanks to Kevin Sill PhD, chief science officer at Intezyne Technologies, Inc. (Tampa, Flor.), and his development of the IVECT Method.

It all began with a boy and his interest in microorganisms and fungi. Dr. Hans van Leeuwen, president of MycoInnovations and Professor of Environmental and Biological Engineering at Iowa State Univ., was infatuated with these small intricate organisms at a young age, brewing beer and wine, and making cheese and yogurt during his school years. He still eats his homemade yogurt every morning for breakfast. Soon this hobby turned into major innovations that can be used around the world, with the hopes of making the world a cleaner and healthier place.

If I'm awake, I'm working,'' says classical Type A engineer Dean Kamen of the way that he interprets his life style and work regimen. Kamen is President of DEKA Research and Development Corp., Manchester, N.H., and founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).